Movie Review: 'Jack The Giant Slayer'
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Monday, March 04, 2013
Cinerama Brought The Power Of Peripheral Vision To The Movies
March 4, 2013 In the 1950s, as movie directors were trying to offer TV watchers something they couldn't get on a small screen, Cinerama films threw three simultaneous images onto a curved screen to create peripheral vision. Two classic Cinerama films — This Is Cinerama and Windjammer — are now out on DVD.
Friday, March 01, 2013
A Disappointing Thriller Channels Hitchcock And Bram 'Stoker'
March 1, 2013 The film is ripe with a creepy-crawly feel that would be affecting if the tone weren't so arch. Directed by Park Chan-wook, written by Wentworth Miller and starring Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska and Matthew Goode, Stoker is a vile little chamber horror, says critic David Edelstein.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Adolescent Angst Turns Deadly In 'Stoker'
February 28, 2013 South Korean director Park Chan-wook makes his English-language debut with this taut horror thriller. Though at times the narrative wears thin, tense imagery and a haunting narrative keep the action moving along to a terrifying finale. (Recommended)
'Hava Nagila: The Movie' Pays Homage To Unlikely Jewish Touchstone
February 28, 2013 You may not know all the words to the Jewish staple "Hava Nagila," but you probably know the tune. Roberta Grossman wants to show the unlikely origins of the global phenomenon in her charming documentary — and the result might surprise you. (Recommended)
Soviet Ghosts Resurface In Soggy 'Phantom'
February 28, 2013 A surprising flip of Cold War submarine thrillers, Phantom shows what the Soviets might have been thinking as they battled their American foes. It's unfortunate that the American-produced film that results is such a soggy mess.
'Jack The Giant Slayer': A Fun, Fractured Fairy Tale
February 28, 2013 A new film takes a meta approach to tell the simple story of a boy, a girl and some giants. After those confused excesses are tossed aside, the movie is strongest when it focuses on its lovely story of fairy tale romance.
'Leviathan': Of Fish And Men, Without Chats
February 28, 2013 There's a quiet kind of artistry in this commercial fishing documentary — extra quiet, because there's no dialogue. The movie might be an art-house gimmick or even an oceangoing tone poem.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
'11 Flowers': A Revolutionary Childhood
February 21, 2013 The stark Chinese drama 11 Flowers meditates on the universal experiences of childhood even as it details the bizarre specifics of growing up during Mao's Cultural Revolution. The acquisition of a new white shirt changes a young boy as the revolution draws to a close. (Recommended)
'Snitch': Johnson And The Rock, At Odds In A Drug Drama
February 21, 2013 There are two very different movies going on in Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's new drama, Snitch: One stars Johnson as a concerned father, the other stars The Rock as an undercover drug dealer. The warring conflicts make for a film that works against itself.
'Inescapable' Ambiguities In Prewar Syria
February 21, 2013 Director Ruba Nadda's debut entry in the thriller field weaves a tale of a missing daughter, a worried father and a country on the brink of revolution.
Movies
'Red Flag,' 'Rubberneck': A Filmmaker Turns Inward (Twice)
February 21, 2013 Writer-director-actor Alex Karpovsky has two intensely personal films out this week, and in one of them he's straight-up playing a version of himself. That film, the wacky road comedy Red Flag, plays better than his overly tense thriller, Rubberneck.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Monkey See
Home Video Review: 'On The Waterfront'
February 20, 2013 Marlon Brando gives a strong case for method acting in the film's famous "I coulda been a contender" sequence. Film critic Bob Mondello says there's no madness to his method — or to the Academy Award-winning film, now out in a superb Blu-ray Disc.
